The immune system is made up of a complex network of cells and proteins, and is our first line of defense against infections and other diseases. Keep your immune system strong, and you’ll be able to enjoy a healthier life.
Want to proactively strengthen your immune system? Break these six bad habits that weaken and destroy the immune system stat.
Not Sleeping Enough
According to the National Sleep Foundation, healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of uninterrupted or quality sleep every night.
Anything less could compromise the immune system. Without adequate rest, your immune system, as well as your heart and brain, will not able to take a break. They need downtime for a chance to reset or recharge, the same way machines need upkeep or maintenance.
Science has linked poor slumber with a number of health problems besides a weakened immune system. High blood pressure, weight gain, increased risk for diabetes, and heart disease are just among the problematic health issues linked to sleep deprivation.
If you have trouble sleeping, try one of these tips. Avoid drinking anything with caffeine six hours before your slumber time. Turn off or set aside your phone when you’re about to go to bed, and condition your body for rest. Playing soothing or relaxing music, or a sleep meditation audio in the background could set the mood, as well as using aromatherapy oils, especially lavender.
Drinking Too Much Alcohol
A bottle of wine or a 6-pack beer are celebratory staples in every household. But while a drink or two won’t hurt, drinking too much alcohol can weaken the immune system immensely.
Science says excessive drinking increases your risk of heart disease, respiratory infections, slow wound healing, sepsis, and more than ten types of cancer.
Further, in a paper published in the journal Alcohol Research, researchers found that excessive alcohol intake leads to a susceptibility to respiratory diseases, such as pneumonia, and this could potentially impact COVID-19 outcomes.
So give your immune system a better fighting chance by drinking moderately, as what alcohol advertisements remind us every time. What counts as moderate? No more than one drink per day for women, and no more than two drinks per day for men.
Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that aids overall bone health. You can obtain vitamin D from sunlight, and through foods such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, mushrooms and milk.
However, research has shown that in general, people are Vitamin D-deficient. The lockdowns imposed by governments due to the pandemic didn’t help—people were forced to stay indoors and forego sunlight exposure.
But according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, inadequate levels of Vitamin D in a person can compromise one’s immune system. He recommends taking Vitamin D supplements as an added precaution against COVID-19.
“If you’re deficient in vitamin D, that does have an impact on your susceptibility to infection,” he said in an interview. “I would not mind recommending—and I do it myself—taking vitamin D supplements. There is good evidence that if you have a low vitamin D level, that you have more of a propensity to get infected when there are infections around.”
Smoking Habit
Whether you’re smoking traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes, you’re still ingesting nicotine, which, science shows, wreaks havoc on the immune system.
Nicotine causes inflammation in the body, making the immune system less effective in fighting all kinds of infections—whether flu, pneumonia, or any other bacteria or virus.
When the body confronts a virus, the inflammatory changes in the lungs caused by smoking diverts the immune system to fight infections elsewhere. Smoking can really
mess up the entire system, and people who are habitual smokers suffer more severe
and longer-lasting illnesses.
Sedentary Lifestyle
A couch potato lifestyle directly impacts the immune system. Without exercise, the blood isn’t able to circulate well, causing the immune cells to lessen or downgrade their effectivity. Remember, poor blood circulation can lead to an unreliable and poorly-performing immune system.
Other health risks include obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and high cholesterol, which all cycles back to having a compromised immune system.
If you’ve been fairly inactive, it’s okay to take baby steps first. Start slowly by walking each day for 20-30 minutes. Then gradually, upgrade your goal, such as adding more steps or minutes. You don’t need to become a professional athlete or a gym rat. Just find a physical activity that you enjoy, and do it regularly (4-5 times weekly).
Feeling Stressed Frequently
To quote Dr. Fauci—“Try to avoid or alleviate severe stress, which we know can sometimes impact the immune system.”
Chronic stress causes the brain to produce high amounts of the hormone “cortisol,” which impairs the effectivity of the infection-fighting T cells.
People who are chronically stressed catch the flu or common cold quickly, compared to people who manage stress better. Excess cortisol is also known for storing fat in the ugliest of places—in the belly, which is in itself a stressful sight.
The presence of stress is normal and cannot be avoided. The best you can do is to manage it by setting boundaries in your work and personal life, finding relaxation techniques such as meditation, and simply, knowing when it’s time to put down your gadgets, lie down, breathe in and out, and rest. Stress is never worth the wrinkles
anyway!
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic may have been a crushing blow in our lives. But it also served as a wake-up call for us to take care of our health better.
Breaking these bad habits that destroy your immune system can boost your health, and put you on a path to longer life.
Tags
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/everyday-habits-weaken-immunity-says-141557619.html
https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/9-surprising-ways-youre-weakening-your-immune-system/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-habits-linked-to-a-long-life
https://www.sharecare.com/health/impact-nicotine-addiction-on-body/smoking-affect-immune-system
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3244676/
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/14/supplements-white-house-advisor-fauci-takes-every-day-to-help-keep-his-immune-system-healthy.html
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